STUDY or LEARN?

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What’s the difference between learn and study?

My students often ask me this question and the answer is quite easy! Here’s the explanation below:

LEARN – use the verb ‘learn’ to talk about new information or experience. Examples: 1). In English class today, we learned some new vocabulary. 2). I’m learning English at school. 3). You can learn a language quickly if you practice everyday.

STUDY – use the verb ‘study’ to talk about information that you must remember. So, this is information that someone has taught you which you have already seen or learnt before. To make sure you don’t forget the information, you must study it. Examples: 1). I must study the grammar for my English exam tomorrow. 2).

Compare the difference between the use of STUDY and LEARN in the following sentences:

1. After English lessons, I go home and study everything that I learned during the classes at school.

2. Learning English is easy but I don’t like studying the new words and vocabulary.

3. Some new words in English are very difficult to remember for me. I learn some new words very easily but some I can’t remember. I must study them many times before I remember their meaning.